The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvonne Fovargue on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings Ministers have had with representatives of Keep me Posted since May 2015.
George Freeman
Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to reform the police complaints process.
Mike Penning
Complaints made against the police must be responded to in a way that builds public confidence, and allows lessons to be learned.
The Policing and Crime Bill will reform the complaints system so that the handling of police complaints is customer focused and that cases are dealt with quickly and effectively, not just for the benefits of the public, but also for officers who have done nothing wrong.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the conditions faced by Pakistani refugees who have been incarcerated in detention centres in Thailand, and (2) the allegations contained in the BBC World documentary Our World, broadcast on 27 February, that women and children are being held there, despite being UN-registered asylum seekers; and when they last discussed that situation with the UNHCR and the government of Thailand.
Earl of Courtown
We are concerned about the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand. Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Once any form of legal immigration status expires, refugees and asylum claimants can be deemed illegally in the country even if they have registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Nonetheless, we have pressed the Thai authorities to apply international humanitarian norms and standards when handling these vulnerable groups. We are also working with the Thai authorities to improve conditions of detention.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-04-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure young people are not disproportionately affected by reductions in government expenditure.
Damian Hinds
The Government published distributional analysis to accompany Budget 2016 which shows that spending is focused towards households with children and young people, who will receive around £1,500 more per person per year in 2019-20 than working age households without children or young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he had discussions with HSBC before its announcement of 16 May 2016 on moving offshore 490 roles currently based in Sheffield; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
This is a commercial matter for HSBC – Ministers in the Department had no discussions with HSBC prior to their 16 May 2016 announcement. We recognise that this will be a worrying time for the workforce and, since HSBC’s announcement, I have spoken to the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership who will now be working with local partners to ensure that suitable support is available for any HSBC worker made redundant as a result of this announcement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many complaints her Department has received about consultations relating to new free schools.
Edward Timpson
Free schools trusts are required, under Section 10 of the Academies Act 2010, to consult those they think appropriate on whether to enter into a Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State to open the school, and to have due regard to the outcome of that consultation. The duty to consult rests solely with the trust and the Department does not direct trusts on how to execute their duty.
Complaints about a particular consultation can be made directly to the Department. However the total number of complaints received relating to free school consultations is not recorded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to update the guidance issued to Government departments on drafting answers to parliamentary questions.
Ben Gummer
Ministers are responsible for the answers they give to Parliamentary questions. The practice of providing links or references to published material is long standing. There are currently no plans to update the Guidance to Departments on drafting answers to Parliamentary questions given it was previously updated in the last Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that high-speed broadband provision can meet the likely demand for such provision by 2020 of creative and digital companies in geographic clusters.
Mr Edward Vaizey
This Government recognises the need for creative and digital companies to have access to have access to high-speed broadband, wherever in the UK they are located. The Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme is on track to deliver superfast broadband coverage to 95 per cent of UK premises by the end of 2017.Inaddition we are supporting seven pilot projects to explore ways to extend superfast broadband beyond 95 per cent of UK homes and businesses. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps,nomatterwherein the countrytheylive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what response his Department has made to requests for more rail travel paths from North Wales to Manchester Airport.
Andrew Jones
The allocation of train paths is a matter for the independent Office of Road and Rail to decide, not the Department for Transport.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure a reduction in the use of paper in departments.
Matthew Hancock
Individual Departments are responsible for making their own reductions to their use of paper, including as part of the Greening Government Commitments. The Cabinet Office’s own use of paper in 2015/16 to date has reduced by around 60% against the 2009/10 baseline. This reduction has been achieved including through the use of more flexible laptop-based IT and electronic records systems which means that printing requirements have reduced considerably.